May 9
Events *1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh. It is the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail. * 328 - Athanasius is elected Patriarch bishop of Alexandria. *1092 - Lincoln Cathedral is consecrated. *1450 - 'Abd al-Latif (Timurid monarch) assassinated. *1502 - Christopher Columbus leaves Spain for his fourth and final journey to the "New World". *1671 - Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal England's Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. *1726 - Five men arrested during a raid on Mother Clap's molly house in London are executed at Tyburn. *1868 - The city of Reno, is founded. *1873 - Der Krach: Vienna stock market crash heralds Long Depression . *1874 - The first horse-drawn omnibus made its début in the city of Mumbai, plying on two routes. *1877 - Mihail Kogălniceanu reads, in the Chamber of Deputies, the Declaration of Independence of Romania. This day became the Independence Day of Romania *1887 - Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opens in London. *1901 - Australia opens its first parliament in Melbourne. *1904 - The steam locomotive City of Truro becomes the first steam engine to exceed 100mph. *1914 - J.T. Hearne becomes the first bowler to take 3000 first-class wickets. *1915 - World War I: Second Battle of Artois between German and French forces. *1920 - Polish-Soviet War: The Polish army under General Edward Rydz-Śmigły celebrated their capture of Kiev with a victory parade on Khreschatyk. *1926 - Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole (later discovery of his diary seems to indicate that this did not happen). *1927 - The Australian Parliament first convenes in Canberra. *1936 - Italy formally annexes Ethiopia after taking the capital Addis Ababa on May 5. *1940 - World War II: The German submarine U-9 sinks French coastal submarine Doris near Den Helder. *1941 - World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma cryptography machine which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages. *1942 - World War II: Belgrade becomes the first Axis-conquered city to murder or eliminate its Jewish population, largely with the help of Serbian collaborators. * 1942 - Holocaust: German SS murder 588 Jewish residents of the Podolian town of Zinkiv (Khmelnytska oblast, Ukraine). The victims were shot with machine gun in ravine on the order from Gebietskomissar Eggers and Chief of Gendarmerie Busse. *1945 - World War II: The final German surrender to Marshal Georgy Zhukov at Berlin-Karlshorst is signed by Colonel-General Hans-Jürgen Stumpff as the representative of the Luftwaffe, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel as the Chief of Staff of OKW, and Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg as Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine. * 1945 - World War II: Hermann Göring is captured by the United States Army. * 1945 - World War II: Vidkun Quisling is arrested in Norway. * 1945 - World War II: Red Army enters Prague (capitulation of Nazi occupation troops). * 1945 - World War II: The Soviet Union marks Victory Day. * 1945 - World War II: The Channel Islands are formally liberated by the British. *1946 - King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates and is succeeded by Humbert II. *1949 - Rainier III of Monaco becomes Prince of Monaco. *1950 - Robert Schuman presents his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered by some people to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union. * 1950 - L. Ron Hubbard publishes his book on Dianetics, entitled "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health". *1955 - Cold War: West Germany joins NATO. * 1955 - Sam and Friends debuts on a local U.S. television channel, marking the first television appearance of both Jim Henson and what would become Kermit the Frog and the Muppets. *1956 - First ascent of Manaslu, the world's eighth-highest mountain. *1960 - The U.S. FDA announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill. *1961 - Jim Gentile of the Baltimore Orioles becomes the first player in baseball history to hit grand slams in consecutive innings. *1965 - Pianist Vladimir Horowitz gave his first public recital since 1953, at Carnegie Hall. *1965 - Bob Dylan played the first of two sold-out performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London. *1970 - Vietnam War: In Washington, 75,000 to 100,000 war protesters demonstrate in front of the White House. *1974 - Watergate Scandal: The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard M. Nixon. *1980 - In Florida, Liberian freighter [[Wikipedia:SS Summit Venture|SS Summit Venture]] hits the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay sending 35 people (most in a bus) to a watery death as a 1,400-foot section of the bridge collapses. * 1980 - In Norco, five masked gunman hold up a Security Pacific bank, leading to a violent shoot-out and one of the largest pursuits in California history. Two of the gunman and one police officers was killed while thirty-three police and civilian vehicles were destroyed in the chase. * 1980 - The first meeting of Pope John Paul II and the Archbishop of Canterbury takes place in Ghana. *1987 - A Polish LOT Ilyushin IL-62M "Tadeusz Kościuszko" (SP-LBG). crashes after takeoff in Warsaw, killing 183 people. *1988 - The new Australian Parliament House opens in Canberra. *1992 - At 5:18 a.m. ADT The Westray Mine in Plymouth experiences a methane explosion killing all 26 miners who were working. * 1992 - Armenian forces capture Shusha in the Karabakh War, marking a major turning point. *1999 - On Mother's Day, a bus carrying 43 mostly elderly passengers to a Mississippi casino crashes on Interstate 610 in New Orleans when the driver apparently passes out. Twenty-two passengers die. *2002 - The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem comes to an end when the Palestinians inside agree to have 13 suspected militants among them deported to several different countries. * 2002 - In Kaspiysk, Russia, a remote-controlled bomb explodes during a holiday parade killing 43 and injuring at least 130. *2004 - Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed in a landmine bomb blast under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial victory parade in Grozny, Chechnya. * 2004 - The Canadian national team wins the World Ice Hockey Championship in Prague. *2005 - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is selected as the successor of Pope John Paul II. *2006 - 2 miners, Todd Russell and Brant Webb, were freed after 14 days trapped underground in a goldmine at Beaconsfield, Australia. * 2006 - Estonia ratifies the European Constitution. Births *1147 - Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shogun (d. 1199) *1439 - Pope Pius III (d. 1503) *1741 - Giovanni Paisiello, Italian composer (d. 1816) *1800 - John Brown, American abolitionist (d. 1859) *1837 - Adam Opel, German engineer and industrialist (d. 1895) *1860 - J. M. Barrie, Scottish author (d. 1937) *1866 - Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Leader of Indian Independence Movement(d. 1915) *1873 - Anton Cermak, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1933) *1874 - Howard Carter, British archaeologist (d. 1939) *1882 - George Barker, American painter (d. 1965) * 1882 - Henry J. Kaiser, American shipbuilder (d. 1967) *1883 - José Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher (d. 1955) *1886 - Francis Biddle, United States Attorney General (d. 1968) *1892 - Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Empress of Austria-Hungary (d. 1989) *1893 - William Moulton Marston, American psychologist, writer (co-creator, Wonder Woman) (d. 1947) *1895 - Richard Barthelmess, American actor (d. 1963) * 1895 - Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (d. 1961) *1888 - Rolf de Maré, Swedish art collector and museum director (d. 1964) *1907 - Baldur von Schirach, Nazi official (d. 1974) * 1907 - Kathryn Kuhlman, famed evangelist (d. 1976) * 1907 - Fred Warngård, Swedish athlete (d. 1950) *1909 - Don Messer, Canadian country musician (d. 1973) *1912 - Pedro Armendáriz, Mexican actor (d. 1963) * 1912 - Per Imerslund, "The aryan idol" (d. 1943) * 1914 - Carlo Maria Giulini, Italian musician and conductor (d. 2005) *1918 - Mike Wallace, American journalist * 1918 - Orville L. Freeman, American politician (d. 2003) * 1918 - Moisis Michail Bourlas, Greek member of the World War II resistance *1920 - Richard Adams, English author * 1920 - William Tenn, American author *1921 - Sophie Scholl, resistance fighter in Nazi Germany (d. 1943) * 1921 - Mona Van Duyn, American poet (d. 2004) *1924 - Bulat Okudzhava, Russian writer and musician (d. 1997) *1927 - Manfred Eigen, German biophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry *1928 - Colin Chapman, English engineer and automobile manufacturer (d. 1982) * 1928 - Pancho Gonzalez, American tennis player (d. 1995) * 1928 - Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian figure skater *1930 - Joan Sims, British actress (d. 2001) *1931 - Vance Brand, American astronaut *1934 - Alan Bennett, British author *1936 - Albert Finney, British actor * 1936 - Glenda Jackson, English actress and politician *1937 - José Rafael Moneo, Spanish architect * 1937 - David Prater, American singer (Sam & Dave) (d. 1988) *1939 - Ralph Boston, American athlete * 1939 - Ion Ţiriac, Romanian tennis player and businessman *1940 - James L. Brooks, American film producer and writer *1942 - John Ashcroft, United States Attorney General * 1942 - Tommy Roe, American singer and songwriter *1944 - Richie Furay, American musician (Poco and Buffalo Springfield) *1946 - Candice Bergen, American actress * 1946 - Clint Holmes, English-born American singer and songwriter *1948 - Calvin Murphy, Hall of Fame basketball player *1949 - Billy Joel, American musician *1955 - Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (d. 1991) * 1955 - Anne-Sofie von Otter, Swedish mezzo-soprano * 1955 - Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia *1960 - Tony Gwynn, Hall of Fame baseball player *1961 - John Corbett, American actor *1962 - David Gahan, English singer (Depeche Mode) * 1962 - Paul Heaton, English singer/songwriter (Beautiful South) *1963 - Sanja Doležal, Croatian singer (Novi fosili) *1964 - Kevin Saunderson, American music producer and disc jockey *1965 - Ken Nomura, Japanese racing driver * 1965 - Janu Tornell, American model and Survivor contestant * 1965 - Steve Yzerman, Canadian hockey player *1968 - Marie-José Perec, French athlete *1969 - Amber, Dutch musician *1970 - Doug Christie, American basketball player * 1970 - Ghostface Killah, American rapper *1971 - Paul McGuigan, British bassist (Oasis) *1972 - Megumi Odaka, Japanese actress and artist * 1972 - Daniela Silivaş, Romanian gymnast *1973 - Chu Sang-mi, South Korean actress *1975 - Brian Deegan, Freestyle Motocross innovator. *1975 - Tamia, Canadian R&B singer *1977 - Choi Jeong-yoon, South Korean actress * 1977 - Maggie Dixon, Women's college basketball coach (d. 2006) * 1977 - Iñigo Landaluze, Spanish cyclist * 1977 - Dan Regan, trombonist, Reel Big Fish *1978 - Leandro Damián Cufré, Argentine football player * 1978 - Aaron Harang, baseball pitcher *1979 - Rosario Dawson, American actress * 1979 - Pierre Bouvier, Canadian musician (Simple Plan) * 1979 - Andrew W.K., American musician * 1979 - Brandon Webb, American baseball player *1980 - Cho Hyeon Jae, South Korean actor * 1980 - Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer * 1980 - Angela Nikodinov, American figure skater * 1980 - Tony Schmidt, German racing driver *1981 - Bill Murphy, American baseball player *1982 - Rachel Boston, American actress *1983 - Gilles Müller, Luxembourgian tennis player *1984 - Prince Fielder, American baseball player *1988 - John Ryan Fitzpatrick, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Driver Deaths *1315 - Hugh V (b. 1282) *1446 - Mary of Enghien, Queen of Naples (b. 1368) *1657 - William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Colony (b. 1590) *1707 - Dieterich Buxtehude, German composer *1745 - Tomaso Antonio Vitali, Italian violinist and composer(b. 1663) *1747 - John Dalrymple, Scottish soldier and diplomat (b. 1673) *1760 - Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, German religious and social reformer (b. 1700) *1789 - Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval, French artillery specialist (b. 1715) *1790 - William Clingan, American delegate to the Continental Congress *1791 - Francis Hopkinson, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1737) *1805 - Friedrich Schiller, German poet and historian (b. 1759) *1861 - Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, German philosopher and writer (b. 1805) *1889 - William S. Harney, U.S. general (b. 1800) *1914 - C.W. Post, American food manufacturer (b. 1854) *1915 - François Faber, Luxembourgish cyclist (b. 1887) *1918 - George Coşbuc, Romanian poet (b. 1866) *1931 - Albert Abraham Michelson, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852) *1938 - Thomas B. Thrige, Danish industrialist (b. 1866) *1949 - Prince Louis II of Monaco (b. 1870) *1950 - Esteban Terradas i Illa, Catalan mathematician, scientist, and engineer (b. 1883) *1955 - Kate Booth, the oldest daughter of William and Catherine Booth (b. 1858) *1957 - Ezio Pinza, Italian bass (b. 1892) *1965 - Leopold Figl, Austrian politician (b. 1902) *1968 - Mercedes de Acosta, American poet, playwright, costume designer, and socialite (b. 1893) * 1968 - Finlay Currie, British actor (b. 1878) * 1968 - Marion Lorne, American actress (b. 1885) *1970 - Andrew Watson Myles, Canadian politician (b. 1884) * 1970 - Walter Reuther, American labor leader (b. 1907) *1976 - Jens Bjørneboe, Norwegian author (b. 1920) * 1976 - Ulrike Meinhof, German revolutionist (b. 1934) *1977 - James Jones, American writer (b. 1921) *1978 - Aldo Moro, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1916) *1979 - Cyrus Eaton, Canadian-American businessman and industrialist (b. 1883) *1981 - Ralph Allen, English footballer (b. 1906) *1985 - Edmond O'Brien, American actor (b. 1915) *1986 - Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese sherpa (b. 1914) *1989 - Keith Whitley, American country music singer (b. 1955) *1990 - James Chadwick,, Australian train conductor *1993 - Jacques Dextraze, French Canadian military officer (b. 1919) *1994 - Elias Motsoaledi, South African freedom fighter (b. 1924) *1997 - Marco Ferreri, Italian film director (b. 1928) *1998 - Alice Faye, American actress (b. 1915) *2001 - James E. Myers, American songwriter (Rock Around the Clock) and producer (b. 1919) *2003 - Russell B. Long, U.S. Senator from Louisiana (b. 1918) *2004 - Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen president (b. 1951) * 2004 - Alan King, American comedian (b. 1927) *2005 - Nasrat Parsa, Afghani singer (b. 1969) *2007 - Dwight Wilson, second-to-last Canadian WWI veteran (b. 1901) Tony Gwinn Holidays and observances *Russia and some other parts of the former Soviet Union – Victory Day as the end of the "Great Patriotic War". *Armenia celebrates Victory Day to simultaneously mark the capture of Shusha in the Karabakh War and the victorious end of World War II. *European Union – Europe day, commemorating the "Schuman declaration". *Romania - Independence Day. *Jersey, Guernsey – Liberation Day (commemorating the end of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II). *Roman Empire – Feast of the Lemures (See Larvae). *Espertantina, Brazil - Orgasm Day Liturgical feasts *Beatus of Lungern *Beatus of Vendome *Saint Gerontius (died 501) *Saint Pachomius (died 346) *Saint Tudi *Saint George Preca (born 1880 - died 1962) External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- May 09